An electrical junction box for a motor vehicle has various structures. One example of such electrical junction box is shown in FIG. 5 and includes a bus bar 3, a junction terminal 9, an electronic component which is electrically-connected to the bus bar 3 via the junction terminal 9, and a frame made of synthetic resin and mounted with these components (refer to PTL 1).
The bus bar 3 is obtained by pressing a metal plate and includes a laterally-extending flat plate portion 30, a plate-like connection portion 31, a plurality of U-shaped terminal portions 32 and a terminal protection portion 33 projecting from one end of the flat plate portion 30 in a short-side direction, and an electric wire crimp portion 34 projecting from the other end of the flat plate portion 30 in the short-side direction. The flat plate portion 30 is provided with a locking hole 35 at which a locking portion provided to the frame is locked.
The junction terminal 9 is obtained by pressing a metal plate and includes a first connection portion 91 into which the plate-like connection portion 31 of the bus bar is inserted and electrically-connected, and a second connection portion 92 to which the plate-like terminal portion of the electronic component is inserted and electrically-connected.
The first connection portion 91 is constituted of a rectangular plate-like bottom wall 90, and a spring portion 93 extending perpendicularly from both widthwise ends of the bottom wall 90 and having a tip bent towards the bottom wall 90. The plate-like connection portion 31 of the bus bar 3 is inserted between the bottom wall 90 and the spring portion 93 from an opposite side of the second connection portion 92 and pushed toward the bottom wall 90 by the spring portion 93.
The second connection portion 92 is constituted of a tubular portion 94 having the bottom wall 90 as one face, and a spring portion 95 arranged within the tubular portion 94. The plate-like terminal portion of the electronic component is inserted into the tubular portion 94 from the opposite side of the first connections portion and pushed towards the bottom wall 90 by the spring portion 95.
When assembling the electrical junction box including the above-described components, the junction terminal 9 is attached to the plate-like connection portion 31 of the bus bar 3 in advance, as shown in FIG. 5, and these bus bar 3 and the junction terminal 9 are inserted into the frame, and then the electronic component is mounted to the frame and the plate-like terminal portion of this electronic component is inserted into the tubular portion 94 of the junction terminal 9.
For the conventional electrical junction box described above, the junction terminal 9 which is attached to the bus bar 3 is inserted into the frame. Thus, the frame is not provided with an engagement lance, for example, to hold the junction terminal 9.
The junction terminal 9 shown in FIG. 5 is configured such that the first connection portion 91 and the second connection portion 92 are aligned along a height direction of the frame. Thus, the electrical junction box including such junction terminal 9 has a drawback that the height dimension of the frame is increased.
Other than the junction terminal 9 described above, a junction terminal 5 shown in FIG. 6 is known. This junction terminal 5 is obtained by pressing a metal plate and includes a tubular portion 50 having a pair of opposing walls 51, 52 and a pair of opposing walls 53, 54, a spring portion 55 arranged within the tubular portion 50, and a preventive projection 56 for preventing wrong insertion projecting from an outer surface of the tubular portion 50.
In case of using the junction terminal 5 instead of the junction terminal 9, as shown in FIG. 7, one spring portion 55 is arranged such that the plate-like connection portion 31 of the bus bar 3 inserted into the tubular portion 50 from one side is sandwiched between the spring portion 55 and one opposing wall 51 and that a plate-like terminal portion 41 of an electronic component 4 inserted into the tubular portion 50 from the other side is sandwiched between the spring portion 55 and the other opposing wall 52. The electronic component 4 shown in the drawing is a relay including a rectangular body portion 40 and a plurality of plate-like terminal portions 41 projecting from the body portion 40.
As described above, the junction terminal 5 is configured to push, with one spring portion 55, both of the plate-like connection portion 31 of the bus bar 3 and the plate-like terminal portion 41 of the electronic component 4. Thus, in the case of using such junction terminal 5 in the electrical junction box, the height dimension of the frame can be downsized compared to the case of using the above-mentioned junction terminal 9.